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Sept. 22, 2006 Building a bridge between antagonists can be difficult. The communications bridge, however, is one way to de-escalate a conflict. By following this way, perhaps Fred Smith and John Waters can see eye-to-eye. When they are functioning well, both Fred and John can explain things in simple terms. Saying this differently, there is no idea or phenomenon that can't be clearly understood by using the appropriate language. If this is correct, then both Fred and John should consider the likelihood that their disagreement has been increased by their sometimes imperfect use of language. You see, when Fred uses a word like "belief," or "faith," or "Luddite," John isn't necessarily 100% familiar with or in agreement with the particular word definition Fred has in his mind. The ancients solved this problem, at least in arithmetic and geometry, by giving clear definitions at the very beginning of their argumentation. At least that was the procedure used by the Euclidean School. The process worked so well, in fact, that even today, some 2500 years later, many students still study Euclid in school! But in public discourse, somehow, the axiomatic-logical-deductive process didn't catch on, and even in philosophy, most philosophers just freely talk or write and assume that everybody defines every word in the same way without personal distortion. Some philosophers or teachers of ethics have even gone so far as to claim that their philosophy or ethics came directly from the mythical "divine" Creator of the universe. Those few teachers whose works remain sacred were just the most successful teachers in this large class of philosophers. Most all the others were dismissed as beguiled by "the evil one" or labeled "insane." Fred has been known to ridicule persons who claim allegiance to one of these "divine" teachers. Other skeptics sometimes ridicule such believers, even to the point of saying or writing "God is for suckers." A skeptic might doubt that it is good for prize fighters to de-escalate their conflict. After all, many people enjoy watching two prize fighters sluggin' it out. Well, sure, just like many people like to watch a cockfight or a bull fight. As it was in the days of the Roman gladiators, many modern people still harbor a blood lust. So Fred Smith and John Waters have been sluggin' it out on U-K for several weeks now, and really they are both secular humanists at heart. It's just that they are sometimes both awkward in their use of English and in their applying the rules of logic. Consequently they both throw a wild punch and this makes the other feel like retaliating. Furthermore, if you read most any debate forum you will see this same phenomenon going on. Often it illustrates imperfect language usage. Much heat is generated and little light, and the conflict may escalate. English is a tool. English is a cognitive and communications device that young children learn to use at home and at school. Some English users spend a great deal of time talking, writing, reading, and listening to talk. But still, English is just a tool, a game, and a preoccupation with English and speech diverts us from paying attention to all the rest of the cosmos. To see the humorous side of all this and get a smile, think of Fred Smith all hunkered down over his computer keyboard, spending hours a day pecking out words and composing scripts that he fancies are damaging to John Waters' spirit and reputation. Envision that John is similarly preoccupied as he electronically needles Fred. This online debating is rather like voodoo magic. Fred keeps sticking word-pins into his straw-man John doll and John keeps sticking word-pins into his straw-man Fred doll. The public is free to read Useless Knowledge Magazine online and witness this preoccupation with literary voodoo. Meanwhile all the rest of existence keeps going around Fred and John like in the Doctor Seuss book, "the northbound Zax meets the southbound Zax." Check it out. Like so many reports on human behavior, it's downright funny. quote from Wikipedia: ""The Zax" is a lesson about the importance of compromise. In the story a North-going Zax and a South-going Zax meet face to face in the desert. Because they refuse to move east, west, or any direction except their objective direction, the two Zax become stuck, as they refuse to move around each other. The Zax stand so long that eventually a highway overpass is built around them, and the story ends with the Zax still standing there." John can see the irony in all this, and John can see the irony in other arguments, that often erupt into dangerous fights, yes, even wars! So can you ever get a laugh out of war? Can you get a laugh out of religious conflicts? Do you get a laugh out of playground fights? Do you understand the source of so many escalations in conflict? Is the English in this article 100% correct? As an expert user of English, or wannabe, how would you refine this article? Today many people are concerned about conflicts and conflict resolution partly because the natural resources of Earth are limited and conflicts always waste natural resources and human resources. Yet many people still have a strong blood lust and even many children like to watch a fight on television or even a fight at school or a fight somewhere closer to home. Aren't lots of people bloody silly? Even so, to most people the paradigm shift to good humor hasn't come yet. Seeing your silliness and laughing at yourself help cool down the fires of your fanaticism. But fanatics tend to have a poor sense of humor. Sincerely yours from Court Jester aka Green Frog aka Ding Salaam Hashem El Mazahs. ------------ About the author: sixty-six years young, and vigorous in mind, body, emotions, and spirit, John L. Waters is an independent researcher on self-healing, integration, creativity, and unity. To help demonstrate the effectiveness of his research, John has created thousands of drawings, paintings, instrumental music pieces, songs, prose pieces, poems, and other inventions. John has used his research to help persons remove a mental block and solve a problem. John also gives personal presentations which illustrate his research results. Each one of these works demonstrates the effectiveness of John's research. For more information, read John's letters of recommendation: about John's self-healing and integration: about the mystical energy or yogic force and related topics: about John's independent research: about John's seeking an agent or a publisher: Email: blueguntwo@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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